


Caught Between Worlds

by LostInQueue, MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is alive and confused, Canon, Canon Divergent, Cosplay, F/M, Fluff, Gen, I know this is confusing but we are combining the two canon and au, Mutual Pining, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, The World Between Worlds (Star Wars), all inclusive, deep character builds, star wars cosplay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:28:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29415633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInQueue/pseuds/LostInQueue, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: Our story takes place with Ben Solo’s disappearance in Exegol after he and Rey share their first kiss. He’s transported to the World Between Worlds where he tries desperately to make sense of things. There are translucent paths and portals strewn around on the darkness, none telling just where he is specifically or if he can even get back to Rey on Exegol.That is, until he comes across a vision of a young girl in the desert with her telltale three buns which strikes his heart. She’s alive and alone.——Rachel is a full time Cosplayer. Her long time friends Pedro plays Poe and Frankie plays Finn in every convention since Episode 7 came out. Their popularity has skyrocketed which meant so did their prop sales which made life much more livable...which even some would say the trio were living the dream...That is... until Rachel met Ben Solo.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Caught Between Worlds

**Author's Note:**

> It’s all in a title! Thanks MyJediLife for coming up with it. It really brings things together.  
> Also huge thank you to Semperfidani who made our stylish moodboard. It is excellent!
> 
> It’s been, gosh, eight months since outlining this story. Thanks to the events we're all dealing with due to pandemic life, this took a long pause, but we're happy to say it’s off the shelf and in progress now. This particular story combines both the qualities of canon and alternate universe, which we thought, what better way to do it than to let Canon Ben Solo meet Cosplayer Rachel playing “Rey” at a convention? What could go wrong?

[ ](https://imgbb.com/)

His chest burns through the screaming decay of his flesh from where the essence of the force had been pulled from his body. That much he knew. But where he was when he rose… well… he couldn't exactly put a name to it. 

The darkness of the universe consumed this place. Stars within it, sprinkled as far as the eye could see, made him feel the need to jump to his feet but in his weakened state he could only move slowly, which truly gave him the ability to process this place. It felt like a void at first. Dark and mysterious. But as his eyes adjusted Ben could see faint shimmering paths arching over his field of vision. His feet spaced shoulder width apart, anchoring himself to what he’d thought was the ground scared him when he realized he could only see the ripple made shine similarly to the ones above him.

He’d heard of this place. Dreamed about it as a boy, thought about the things he could change, what he could control if he had access to the World Between Worlds, but never thought he would be standing within it. Ben’s thoughts raced through his mind wondering all at once how he had gotten there and why Rey wasn’t beside him. Had she fallen? He looks over the side of the path once more looking for any sign of her. 

Maker if she fell in here, how would he ever get her back?

He began to hyperventilate at the thought of losing her, he cringed, wanting to erase the very thing from his mind. He couldn't have. He would have felt it. He… he surely would have died from the loss of her. Ben’s eyes travel the space but remain searching for her inwardly. He needs to know she’s alright. It takes all he is to lower himself to his knees, both of which were ruined in the fall, the very same crunch and pop on the way down to stop his forward motions. As much pain as it brings him to get there, it isn’t horrifyingly awful. He’s dealt with worse physically under Snoke, but the inward promise in his heart that she was still out there somewhere had him ready to risk everything to find her. 

The darkness here was unlike what he’d known. It was timeless. Possibilities of past lives ached to be found in this endless maze. The world between worlds was a myth among most, a child’s dream, but to the Jedi and Sith alike, it was the way to retain powers, unnatural to the galaxy as they knew it.

If this was a true gateway, a space between time, one hanging in the pit of the past, then he could find answers to it, rid himself of the pain he’d served so long ago. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been cast away… maybe then he could have experienced love… or at least felt worthy of it. 

He listens deep within himself, finding not one but two heartbeats, that of his own, and the other of hers. She’s alive. She’s… Ben frowns, deepening his search for her, his other half. She’s somewhere out there in the sea of stars that flicker around him. He follows her call, the force, her thrumming essence around the seemingly limitless night until he’s weaved all around it. Her pulsing beat seems to come from every angle now, which sets himself in a panic. 

There’s no way she could be in every door! 

And yet, there’s a pull to each one. A maddening, desperate call in every direction until he gives in pulling his astral form back into himself. He clenches his teeth and cries out in frustration. With nothing to throw, nothing to break, he can only curl his fists into balls until each knuckle turns white in his fury. 

Why can't anything just go his way, he growled in his mind. His thoughts splintered out of him, taunting him as they went, his every disappointment in himself heavy on each of their lips until the moment ended and showed up in a portal beside him. Ben turned his head carefully, taking in the sight. If… if that could happen just now, where else could it have happened? Did it record every event? Was it a self serving prophecy? One where the world between worlds could be where his conscious sent him to fix this event in his life? 

While Ben couldn’t be sure, he was still left without his other half and no other real way to find her since the force won’t even let up and allow him to connect to her signature. 

It must be weak, he told himself despite how it sounded. If it was weak then she, well she… Ben’s eyes welled up at the thought of her passing again. He’d held her limp body and given himself to her in a way he never thought he would have to. Her fighting spirit had been one to give him the courage to change his own life, to change what he stood for, to take over his hand and be there ultimately for the future of their bond. He’d been there, weaving himself into her, his lasting life force into the fiber of her being for a chance to see her recognize what he did for them. 

He felt her accept him then. They were no longer the abandoned children. They were the future of the force, each other’s future, both wielding with the same integrity, truly aware of the balance between the light and the dark. 

She couldn't be gone, he told himself. She wasn’t. Her force signature called to him and if his own couldn’t see her, well, he would find her with his own eyes, regardless of how his body felt. 

Left with no other real way to find her, Ben does his best to get back to his feet, limping slightly as he goes. He walks the path carefully, searching each portal for clues to where she may truly be thinking he had to see her for herself to find her instead. Ben looked into mirrored reflections only to see himself as the broken man he was now. Some bowed and flickered, calling his attention to it only to fail to see much more. 

It felt like hours before he made his way out to an intersection. 

Ben checks his left, then his right, looking over his shoulder to see if he should continue or change and that’s when he hears whispers beckoning him to change course.

“You can always come back,” an ethereal voice spoke first. 

Ben nibbled on his lip in response. He looked side to side expecting to see someone but found nothing. Neither of the portals flickered behind him, all of which made his heart beat faster. 

“Who’s there?” he asked only for the space to fall silent once more.

Next he murmured to himself about not even truly knowing where he was. How was he supposed to be able to come back like the whisperer said. 

Another voice cooed around him, “Because you were made for this, to become one with the force.”

And another, “You have light within you, we’ve seen it; felt it.”

Many more built him up with the promises he needed to hear all of his life to seek out this new direction and know for sure that he would in fact be able to find his way back before he took a step forward with finality.

He would find what the force willed. 

He would learn why he had woken up here. 

His heavy steps strode on, looking for a change in every door just as he had when one finally lit.

The world it showed was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Oddly grounded. As if it hadn’t yet progressed into true space travel at all. _It must be new_ , he thought, his brow furrowing while he watched. His view started at the horizons of what looked like Jakku. Sandy. Desolate. The terrain, though, had been rocky similar to those on Tatooine, he’d briefly allowed the thought to drift in and back out of his mind deeming that if the doorway was open to him, he needed to pay attention to it.

Ben watched on as a girl emerged. One dirt covered youngling of no resemblance to his… Rey. He remembered her in a panic. His head jerked from side to side, all around, his arms moving around him to steady himself while his feet neared an unseen edge. 

“REY?” Ben shouted, his voice loud at the start was captured by silence soon after it left him. “REY? Where are you?!” he tried again. 

Her voice was small, but certainly not Rey’s. It called him back to the story in the doorway only to see that little girl had changed. Years had passed. She’d grown. And there was something oddly familiar about her. 

Bubbling panic put him far enough on edge that he’d willed the image to go on, forwarding them to her present, where the image of the girl panned up from her feet to her proud stance, her tucked three buns present, wearing the same robes she had just been beside him in, but stood in the sun in the midst of some of the strangest individuals he had ever seen. Some had a likeness to the worlds he’d been on himself or studied in the past while he’d still been with his mother and father all that time ago… but this was exceedingly odd. Civilians dressed in unnatural, colorful styles, all wielding versions of what had to be weaponry that by the looks of it couldn't possibly be real… then again, he thought, Mandalorian weapons were and with that he refocused on the girl. 

She moved like Rey, smiled like her… Was it her?

Could the mirror lie?

Ben wasn’t sure but at the same time, he had been called in this direction. He had been searching for long enough, ready to believe anything, and so his feet moved as if he’d been walking on air towards her. 

Unlike a true mirror, the vision licked his fingers as he’d held them up to the vision of her. It washed over him consuming his form. Ben braced himself for change but it never came. His body felt the same, to a point. Gravity was certainly different, making him feel the true weight of himself, for once he’d known what his mother had been going on about all those years back. The sole of his boot ground onto the mixture of stone beneath him was startling. Never once had he been so alerted to something so unnecessary but there he was, staring at the ground, not noticing that the doorway he had entered was no longer in sight. 

Ben’s long sweater, hole and all, had been replaced with his fitted armor the moment he stepped through the portal too, he noticed, which made it far less enjoyable to move, and yet he still did. 

He’d do it for her...for Rey. 

And so he walked the streets, stared at like a mad man. All the while the common folk of that land had been so similarly dressed, not many standing out from the crowd, still managed to give him incredulous looks. Some turned to look him over, while none gave him the satisfaction of moving for him. It was odd, truly. Certainly not something he’d been used to in the last several years of his life but not even the flick of his wrist was helping sideline them. Instead, he breezed by the masses as well as he could. 

His long strides carried him far past the crowd dropping him down from a low platform of another stony texture he assumed was from the same material as the ground had been, furthering him into danger. Ben lifted his hand to a flightless craft which blared loudly in his face. The object came to a stop but it wasn't where Ben had thought he’d held the vehicle meters back. Soon there was a line of them making similar sounds. People inside them howled anger, then the swarm of the masses came again, blocking the anger from him as they passed. Ben could only drop his hand in confusion, wondering how something so basic could resist him. 

Hoots called his attention back to where he’d been headed, helping Ben to regain his focus. He followed the crowd as far as it took him, sure to stop at the drops each time now. Many creatures fanned out after several intersections, while others surged into the fray where simple folk behind him stayed simple, and the rest accented the world far differently. They were there for only the Maker knows why, parting in every direction only to build in others. 

The further he’d ventured into the gathering, he’d spotted her. 

Rey.

She’d gone back to using her staff which seemed fitting here in this strange place, only to turn to a handful of younglings who dressed in both neutral and charcoal robes and wielded their own lightsabers of multiple designations. Ben’s lips parted taking in her acceptance, that one connected to the dark side had a choice and therefore cannot be lost in it. It made his heart beat faster. She understood. She could help him find it… keep it. Keep her. 

Rey moved with elegance and grace here which entrances him in a way. Neither were her strong points, or so he thought. From what he’d experienced, his girl moved with an intensity all her own. When she had the shot, she took it. When she didn’t, she’d slow down and think. Here, she’s been practiced, calm and willing, nearly righteous and yet startled enough to fall. 

The little ones moved around her in confusion, none sure how to react when Rey tripped, falling within the center of their group. Ben’s heart felt as if it stopped watching her land there. The distance hadn’t been great, nor could she have truly hurt herself from it, but the very fact that he wasn’t there to catch her set him off. He watched in slow motion as she found her footing again to stand, rolling her wrist as she went. It was an effortless motion that dropped the ends of her staff, each falling heavily beside her. Another movement, and a streak of red filled the air, followed by the telltale sound of a double edged lightsaber’s blade igniting, a brilliant gold light on either side of her hand which made him gasp.  
  
Rey grunted at her challenger. Ready to take the fight to them, only to see a burly alien figure stare down at her. The two looked at each other for far longer than he’d thought necessary, his foot falls bringing him further into the circle. Space around the others hummed mercilessly making him think that by some miracle the force was reconnecting him with this odd place, and so he stretched out his stance, his arm long and reaching towards the _thing_ , ready to do what needed to be done had it moved a muscle. 

To his surprise, nothing moved. No one breathed, not even him. For a time the place stayed motionless. But then Rey’s sash fluttered in the slight breeze, her gaze dipped back over her shoulder and in that moment panic crept up his spine. 

. . . 

His plea written across his features gave him away. 

Another fanboy. 

Rachel seized the chance to look him over though, her blades still lit and extended to the character before her, an old friend, rival really, but he had no choice. Oftentimes they were pitted against each other given their immaculate designs and performance in the con’s she’d participated in. 

Only a nod left her and the man made off in another direction leaving the kids to scurry as well. 

She admired the detail that made up this man’s costume which included the hole left in his chest from the newest installment of their beloved Star Wars films. The frey was immaculate, nothing she’d yet mastered and yet the man was capable of such craftsmanship and because of it she was sure she needed to shake his hand. 

Out of character, of course. 

Rachel could barely place him. Surely he was new, a face like his hadn’t approached this scene, not exactly. She knew; she’d been to them all since the new movies came out and made it a point to encourage everyone on their journeys whether this would be their only time in creation of a character or just the beginning. And yet, he seemed so far out of place, Rachel could only stare. 

“Rey,” she heard him say while his hand dropped to his side, “It’s me.”

Rachel’s heard those words before. Her loose cannon of a boyfriend would say them every time he returned from one of his rage fits. He’d walk out on her time and again. The more public the better and what better way to challenge her than to bring her to her knees than here?

Was it Brandon? Rachel’s eyes turned to slits only able to see his form rather than the true features of the man before her. If she looked, really looked, she’d know it wasn’t him, but her rage for his actions had her whip her arm down, the blade still lit, striking the air in a violent whoosh as she readied herself for the battle building inside of her. 

A single word threatened to leave her tongue and yet no matter how hard she tried to force it from her she just couldn't speak it. Instead her body moved, lunging at him with a ferocity she hadn’t felt since the first time he’d left her. Her target though barely moved in her rage, his audacity, she’d swung at him. In a swift motion the man managed bowing backwards, long steps taken, parrying with no hesitation. 

Brandon had not been known to try, catching her cast LED blades in the palm of his hands not once but multiple times before shattering them in his palm. It was his usual powerplay. Ruin her-her life, resurrect their relationship, fuck, try to love the other before he falls from grace again, only to repeat the cycle. This man though, she’d caught his eyes, his movements matching them in a way she truly believed he feared them. 

Good, she thought, the moments of fury slipping through each miss. Where she should feel anger, she felt resolved even without ever connecting with her target. One last swing had her panting, her eyes threatening to overflow with unshed tears thanks to all of Brandon’s wrongs - their broken romance… but then that same shadow of a man, tentatively outstretched his hand to steady her. 

One large hand first at her open hand lifted her ever so slightly. It felt like magic, soft, kind...light. A second braced her back gently. Her body halted, stiffening in this unfamiliar embrace. The weight in her arm dragged it backwards far enough to swing behind her. Rachel’s subconscious whispered promises of protection to which the grip on her staff lightened, dropping it onto the cement at her feet. 

Carefully, her eyes roamed his features, finding two of the kindest eyes she’d ever seen looking back at her. Here in this moment Rachel had felt foolish. Why didn't she bother asking who he was until now?

“Who are you?” she questioned him hesitantly. 

His voice was deep enough to soothe the nightmares of her relationships past into a breath of nothing. 

“Ben,” he answered. “Ben Solo.” 

Rachel’s nose wrinkled just like her character’s would while trying to stamp down the fact that he’d offered his name entirely out of character for the liking of any Star Wars enthusiast’s. Surely he had to have had the right training for his character given his outstanding character presence. Didn’t he know not to mix scripts and lines? 

“I’m afraid you might be confused,” Rachel hummed, gaining her a wary expression. “You see, not Ben nor Kylo introduces himself like an agent from another genre.”

His confusion is real, etched on his features as if it couldn’t be more permanent. And yet he holds on where anyone else would have dropped their act. In fact, she could think of at least twenty Ben Solo’s she’d seen today that either needed extra help with one or more places on their costumes, whether it was a malfunction or oversight just like the wigs on their heads, but even then no one came ready to play the part. Not like the Ben Solo before her. 

It’s when she realized herself and moved to stand. She pushed herself out of his hold, then introduced herself as her character, “I’m Rey.”

“I know,” his reply came as fast as it did quietly.

“Hmm, you know,” Rachel rolled her eyes in response, then added, “Right,” she nodded then turned to see her friends on their way back to her from the food court. 

Frankie and Pedro had been her found-family for years, she smiles back in their direction and his gaze follows hers. 

She notices the new Ben’s response to her friends, his body going rigid beside her and has to wonder if he’s this dedicated to his character that he would. Out of the corner of her eye she also sees the way his arms cross over his chest, making him look impossibly larger, which truth be told was how a lot of the older cosplaying Rey’s simply saw him as; a larger than life wall, which made her want to roll her eyes but something inside of her stopped her from doing it.

Rachel refocused on her friends who happened to be doing their dance segment back to her, neither one were still dressed in their costumes which wasn’t necessarily new for them. It had been increasingly more uncomfortable to walk around in tight pants and a blaster for Frankie, as he himself had claimed he needed to cut back on the sweets, but also assured their group that churros were part of the grain family, came from a taco truck and therefore were indefinitely good and good for them. 

All the while Pedro decided he needed more work on his gear. No amount of Cha-Cha Slide should ever make him feel drenched. It was the material, he knew, but at the same time, it shouldn’t react to him like that. Not to mention, trying to get body odor out of it was enough to take that bad boy off and let it air out on the way home. 

The two still bobbed and weaved like they were in a music video which was always entertaining, especially to the crowds which found themselves enjoying the same in what appeared to be a flash mob. 

Rachel shook her head and smiled at the two goofs approaching her before looking back at “Ben” who dropped his eyes to her staff. She feels weird about the way he continues but waves it away from her side before asking if they already ate. 

“Nah, not really,” Frankie said, chomping on a churro. 

“What’s the plan for dinner?” Pedro asked as they made their way past her. 

“I have tacos or pasta,” she began. 

Frankie chuckled, “No pasta. I’m already gettin’ my carbs.”

Pedro groans at the prospect that they were just at the truck and could have picked it up but Rachel quickly replies, “If we do that, BiBi won’t get fed, and you know how he just loves his canned meals.”

BiBi did not, in fact, like his canned meals and very frequently made the group aware that their choices meant retaliation, none of which anyone of them wanted to push the envelope for. 

“Fair enough!” their reply came quickly, which made her smile, “tacos at home…”

Again she noticed as his frown deepened but couldn't be sure as to why. “I’ve got to go,” she blurts out, offering her hand to shake his. 

She notices him swallow hard, his jaw working to cover an unseen emotion. The hiss that leaves him sounds involuntary and Rachel jumps a little as his eyes snap right back up to hers as if he’d been caught in a private moment. 

Rey’s hands are soft where he remembered them being tough and dry. 

“Aren’t you comin’?” Ben responds to one of the guys but ignores him at the feel of Rey’s hand squeezing his. 

“It’s been… well it’s been,” Rey says, clearing her throat. She then tried dismissing herself from their bond, letting go of where their hands had met. It’s then when she notices his gloves are missing. 

“I’d look for those,” she added. “They couldn't have been easy to make.”

She frowns at his inability to move, or speak for that matter, insisting that he goes and takes her advice to find his items. 

“See ya at the next one right? Yeah?”

Again he has no response, just an eye twitch and a character perfected puppy dog stare, “Right - Ben, you need to let go,” she insisted once more.

“This is wrong,” he manages to finally say out loud. “You’re supposed to stay with me.”

Rachel’s brow furrows trying to fully process what he’d just said. 

“No?” Rachel tilts her head to the side and lifts her brow. “I didn’t come with you. Why would I leave with you?” 

Ben frowned deeply at that. Panic set in. She could see the way he was changing from the one she snapped wildly at to someone desperate to keep this… whatever it was. But, she reminded herself, Rachel was not Rey, the character in front of her wasn’t Ben Solo, he was someone else lost in the fictional world. She’d known people, good people, that lost themselves here and seriously struggled to find the mentally and emotionally lost versus the individuals looking to abduct a look alike.

While the later hadn’t happened to her, she was dead set on keeping it that way. She’d taken classes at the local gym, gotten into gymnastics to help control herself, and even cross-trained in multiple martial arts. Not only did it keep herself safe but truly gave her an edge in the world of cosplay. 

“That’s my ride,” she nods at him, finally yanking her staff from him then manages to get far enough out of reach of the odd actor beside her before she hears him move again. 

“Wait!” he exclaims. His eyes sweep over her frame trying desperately to see if he’d missed something. “Wait, this… this is not how our story is supposed to go.”

Rachel grimaces at that. His character was supposed to live in the end and yes that bothered more than enough fans to live out the “should haves” in their own lives and fandom alike, and so she paused her step. 

Ben’s large frame comes up beside her once more going on about the natural facts of Rey and “his” relationship so far. “You’ve never truly blocked me out before and I can't help but feel like you are now. What happened to us?”

“What happened to us?” she hissed through her teeth. “I think you’re taking this too far. While endearing, the thought that a fictional character would have more sense than a real man is a little disheartening. I’ve seen a lot of you _Ben’s_ ; just another fanboy acting like it for his social media page is not what I signed up for. If Brandon put you to this…” her brow furrowed as she pressed her finger onto his chest, frustrated that she even had to make contact again, “tell me and this can all be over. I’ll match whatever he’s paying you and not kick your ass on the way back.”

The character before her registered only confusion, to which, she added immediately, “You don’t know him do you?”

Ben shook his head fractionally. His eyes stayed wide and on her. 

“What’s your name?” Rachel asked hesitantly. 

“Ben,” he murmured. 

“No. Your real name. As in, I’m Rachel. And you are?”

“Ben,” the man before her repeated.

Rachel blew out a long sigh. 

“Either that's a huge coincidence or you don’t know your real name. Which is it?”

Ben simply stared at her then finally reintroduced himself again, “I’m Ben Solo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok we have an AU character key:  
> Rachel = Rey  
> Pedro = Poe  
> Frankie = Finn  
> BiBi = their tabby cat  
> Brandon = Rachel's on again, off again boyfriend who happens to look like Ben. Right now they're off and she's dealing with her feelings on the matter.  
> (We'll learn more about him and his whereabouts later on)


End file.
